1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to accessories for the beds of pick-up trucks. Particularly, the present invention is a truck bed floor panel which is adapted to hold weights for improving the traction of the truck and which also serves as a removable cargo storage device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pick-up trucks have a tendency to slip and lose traction during periods of rain or snow because of the minimal weight applied to the rear axle. These vehicles obviously have the weight of the engine and transmission positioned primarily over the front two wheels. This leaves comparatively little weight in the rear for urging the drive wheels to maintain traction on slippery roads. The problem is compounded when the truck bed or storage space is completely empty. Adding to the downward force applied over the vehicle's rear axle would improve handling and control in slippery conditions.
To combat this lack of rear tire grip, some pickup owners add weight to their truck beds in the form of sandbags, firewood, or cement blocks. The added weight improves traction for the tires on slippery road surfaces. Unfortunately, these loose weights also have a tendency to spill or bounce around within the bed with every sharp turn or sudden deceleration. This can be a nuisance to the pickup driver and might also damage the bed and any cargo being transported.
Other stabilizing inserts are known in the art, which typically are water-fillable devices or weight means incorporated directly within a non-removable bed liner. U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,418 provides an insert arranged for complementarily mounting within a pickup truck bed, wherein the insert includes a planar wall construction, with a ribbed top wall to enhance strength and traction of the top wall. The organization defines a central cavity coextensively directed through-out the insert, with a fill plug directed to the top wall and a drain plug directed through and removably mounted relative to the rear wall to permit fluid filling of the cavity to provide weight and enhanced stabilizing of the pickup bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,902 teaches a vehicle bed liner apparatus including a peripherally sealed flexible top wall and flexible bottom wall for containing a quantity of ballast liquid, e.g. water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,227 shows an apparatus composed of a plurality of elongated containers each with a predetermined rectangular cross-section and an inner peripheral surface with sidewalls and hold down surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,914 demonstrates a protective bed liner with ballast means incorporated in the liner for at times providing stability and traction for the truck in which the protective liner is positioned and which ballast means can be provided at very little additional cost over and above the normal cost of a conventional type of protective bed liner. The ballast means includes a hollow compartment formed in the bottom wall of the protective liner and defining a ballast chamber therein. A filling opening is provided for permitting liquid ballast to be inserted in the ballast chamber.
Utilizing water-filled ballast systems in times of frigid weather is an inconvenience and a hazard. Furthermore, when the ballast liquid freezes, the weight of the system can not be varied, and indeed results in an immobile accessory. These systems also impact the use of the truck bed itself because they are high-profile, cause variants in the surface of the truck bed, and could be subject to puncture. Furthermore, traction systems are not always desirable, so the implementation of the weights directly into a non-removable liner is problematic. There is a need then for an easy-to-use panel system which is low profile but would still enable various loads to be carried without interference. Among other attributes, in the off-season, the product is easily removed and stored, and even during use, the weight system can be removed from the product to reveal added, covered storage space, as follows.